Girl honoured after raising £215k for Birmingham hospital

A girl who suffered severe burns as a baby, and has raised £215,000 for a hospital that treated her, was honoured in the Pride of Birmingham Awards.

Eight-year-old Elizabeth has had more than 70 operations, after her cot set alight when she was six months old.

She ran a mile every day for 26 days last summer to raise money.

An off-duty police officer who tackled a knifeman was among those recognised, along with a mother who campaigns for kits to aid stabbing victims.

In her son's memory, Lynne Baird, 65, set up the Daniel Baird Foundation, which presses for potentially lifesaving bleed kits to be made accessible.

Mr Baird, 26, died when a dispute between two groups of men spilled outside a pub in the city in 2017. His mother, who has been appointed an MBE, was given a special recognition award on Monday evening.

And PC Mat Evans, 42, who has been with West Midlands Police for 22 years, tackled a knifeman who had stabbed an NHS worker outside the Royal London Hospital in Whitechapel.

Elizabeth ran a mile every day to raise funds for Birmingham Children's Hospital, despite having limited movement.

She raised £215,000, including £160,000 for a laser machine that softens tissue and reduces tightness around severe scars from burns and other forms of injury and trauma.

Elizabeth, whose cot set alight due to a malfunctioning air conditioner, was "an unbelievably enthusiastic child", father Liam said.

He added: "She never complains, she just gets on and does it, always has a smile on her face."

Birmingham-born lawyer Nazir Afzal, who became the UK's first Muslim chief prosecutor, was given a lifetime achievement award on Monday.

The former chief prosecutor for north-west England "was at the forefront of a series of challenging and landmark cases, including the first prosecutions for honour killings and modern slavery", Pride of Britain said.